By BUILD LLC
The Architect and the Urn
The death industry is a challenging place for design. When the subject matter of a human’s passing is actually dealt with in a direct manner, the design around death is typically conservative, traditional and safe. Familiar forms and customary protocols prevail, whether or not they are applicable to the situation. All fine and well if this is what a person wants, that is, if a deliberate choice is being made. As architects who have spent our lives thinking and breathing design, as individuals trained to understand the form and function of our physical surroundings, we have a difficult time understanding why irrelevant forms and outdated customs play such a weighted role in the final marking of a life. In our opinion, the homogeneous polished granite and plastic urns lack a connection with the deceased and create an unhealthy relationship with death.
